Manx Archaeology in the High Middle Ages

81 At the crossroads of power and cultural influence: Manx archaeology in the high Middle Ages Peter Davey Introduction It is in the nature of archaeological evidence that only rarely at a given site will the events which constitute political or dynastic history be verifiable. The quality of the dating evidence available to archaeologists, often expressed in terms of plus or minus 50 years for pottery for example, means that even if a great fire deposit is located, or the foundations of a prominent building are investigated, the archaeologist will often be unable to support or deny the evidence of documentary sources which apply to the case. Indeed, it is much more common for excavators of medieval structures to rely entirely on documentary sources for dating, not only the sites, but also the association of artifacts which go with them. Thus, for Manx medieval history the story told by The Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles - from the foundation of a local Norwegian dynasty by Godred Crovan through to its demise at the Treaty of Perth in 1266 - cannot be verified by archaeological evidence, despite the considerable amount of new research which has been carried out during the last 15 years. Even such a major monument as Castle Rushen, which figures prominently in 13th and 14th century accounts of the Island, cannot be dated archaeologically even to the nearest one hundred years. Events such as the attack by Robert the Bruce in 1313 (Broderick 1979, f.50r; McNamee 1997, 58) and later Scottish efforts to control the Island, for example in 1456 (Megaw 1957), are invisible to archaeology. The aim of this chapter is to suggest ways in which the new evidence from excavations at Peel, Castletown and Rushen Abbey in particular can, despite its chronological inadequacy, contribute to a better understanding of Man in the medieval period. A number of subject areas will be discussed: evidence for economic activity, for 82 Peter Davey urbanisation, for external trade or political relations and for the internal dynamics of Island life. The questions which underlie the discussion include the degree to which the Island was isolated from contemporary developments, the backwardness or otherwise of Manx social and economic life, the coherence of insular political and social institutions and the evolution of a distinctively Manx identity during the medieval period. Economic activity The archaeological evidence for economic activity on Man during the high medieval period is largely confined to three sites which can hardly be described as representative of the wider state of affairs in the Island as a whole - Peel Castle (Freke 2002), Castle Rushen (Davey et al. 1996) and Rushen Abbey (Butler 1988; Butler in press; Davey (ed) 1999a). With the notable exception of the metal-working sites at Braddan Vicarage (Cubbon 1982-84), and Ronaldsway smelt (Stenning 1935-37), there has been no serious attempt by archaeologists to investigate the nature of settlement or the quality of life beyond. In particular, none of the 700 or so quarter] and farms - the backbone of Manx social and economic life from the Norse period - has been excavated. The level and quality of medieval economic activity on Man, as evidenced by the Castles and Abbey, can be partially assessed by looking at the evidence of artifacts such as pottery, metalwork, glass and coins which have been recovered from recent archaeological excavations. Questions of diet and food supply and, therefore, resource management, can also be addressed. The ceramic evidence has been discussed at length elsewhere (Davey & Johnson 1996; Davey l 999b; Davey 2000; Davey 2001; Davey 2002). In brief, with the exception of a handful of early medieval imports and the use of pottery crucibles in the later Iron Age and Early Christian periods, the Island was a ceramic from the middle of the Bronze Age (clOOO BC) until the I Ith or 12th century With the establishment of Norse rule the production of local hand-made cooking ware, characterized by being grogged with freshly crushed Foxdale granite, was initiated. This "granite-tempered ware" continued in production until late in the 16th century. For the first two or three centuries of local production a "granite-free" ware was also in use for the production of jugs and other table wares. Associated with these insular wares, the Island was in receipt of considerable quantities of imports from Britain and the continent. The very limited evidence from other, lower status sites - such as the metalworking complex at Braddan or the small farm at Kerrowdhoo (Davey 1995) suggests that, although imports were in general circulation on the Island, they were present in only very small quantities outside the major centres. Metalwork, whether of iron or copper alloy, does not survive well in Manx soils. Even at Peel Castle, outside the Norse grave groups, only small numbers of metal artifacts survived. The copper alloy finds consist for the most of wire pins and needles, lace chapes and dress accessories such as strap ends and belt fittings (Freke & Graham Campbell 2002). Castle Rushen produced a similar though much smaller range of items which included metalworking evidence in the form of several cut fragments of sheeting and folded rivets for repairing bronze vessels (Egan 1996). At Rushen Abbey, whilst Manx archaeology in the high Middle Ages 83 a majority of recent finds are from Dissolution demolition deposits, small numbers of medieval copper alloy lace tags, studs, needles, dress fittings and repaired bronze vessel fragments have been found (Davey 1999a). Iron artifacts occur even less frequently. At Peel, apart from some 754 nails and rivets, and with the extensive use of X-ray photography, only seven items were recovered - a knife, a spur, a flesh hook, a fish hook, a projectile point and two chapes (Freke 2002) - which must represent a very small proportion of the iron objects actually in use at any time in the medieval period. At Castle Rushen no medieval iron objects were recovered (Johnson 1996). These assemblages of metal artifacts, although extremely vestigial, do establish that at the main sites, metal was in widespread use for a range of purposes. The Manx finds exhibit no particularly insular features. They lie within the mainstream of the available technologies within the British Isles. In addition, the presence of a smelt for lead and possibly silver, owned by Furness Abbey and located on the coast at Ronaldsway together with a number of ironworking sites such as the one excavated by Cubbon at Braddan Vicarage and that located by Larch Garrad ( 1984) at Ballavarry, Andreas, show that the mineral resources of the Island were certainly being widely exploited. Medieval glass is even more rarely found. Four sherds from a crumbling potash glass vessel were found at Peel (Hurst-Vose 2002), together with some 220 sherds of extremely weathered window glass, including ten with traces of grisaille decoration. Many fragments of window glass, fragments of a urinal and a lamp were recovered from Rushen Abbey, the latter within a burial (Butler 1988, 99, Fig 17, No 4). There was no medieval glass from Castle Rushen. To date five coin hoards, one of the late 12th and the others of the early I 4th century have been found on Man, together with 36 single coin finds. In her recent study Bornholdt (in press), has commented: "The total number of single finds from Man is suspiciously low for a population apparently familiar with coinage, but Man's excavated site totals are not out of keeping in a British Isles context". The paucity of rural finds, compared with England, has led her to conclude " ... that currency was not used regularly by the majority of folk in Man during the middle ages." A number of factors suggest that this statement is rather too extreme. First, unlike England, medieval Man had no villages and therefore no deserted medieval villages. There has been no local tradition of field-walking for medieval finds; indeed the numbers of sherds of pottery found outside formal excavations is also very small - a handful of sherds from 11 sites (eg Garrad 1977). In addition, the I 3th and I 4th century synodal statutes (Cheney 1984) show that tithes, payable by the majority of the 700 or so quarterland farms, were valued in monetary terms. Although payments in kind were also acceptable, it is clear from the records of episcopal payments of Papal taxation, via Nidaros, that commodities such as sheep, honey or grain must have been cash convertible, as Sodor and Man's valuation, at 660 Florins for an incoming bishop, was a significant one in regional terms. The money was generally paid late, and in instalments, but it was paid (Storm 1897). 84 Peter Davey The few surviving medieval buildings on the Island also give some indication of economic activity. With the exception of the residence of the bishop at Bishopscourt, no domestic buildings survive. Of the ecclesiastical buildings, the Cathedral of St German at Peel is pre-eminent. The construction of the crossing arch, vaults and chancel exhibit very good quality workmanship using varieties of Peel Sandstone. Similarly, fine sculptured capitals are in evidence at St Trinians and decorated jams at St Runus Church, Marown with local granite being exploited (Kermode 1910). Although at Rushen Abbey most of the architectural fragments recovered from the excavations appear to be using imported sandstones, the principal walls of the cloistral buildings were constructed using large blocks of finely dressed local limestone (Coppack & Johnson in prep.). In all of these cases it is possible that masons were brought in specially, from Furness or Whitham (in the case of St Trinians). Even so, both Rushen Abbey and St German's Cathedral show a number of phases of workmanship and alterations in windows and doors which imply resident skills in the Manx population.

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